Machine for securing and electrically connecting an electrical cable to an electrical connector

ABSTRACT

A machine for securing and electrically connecting an electrical cable to an electrical connector includes a gripping mechanism for gripping the cable. Means operable automatically when the cable is gripped by the gripping mechanism for stripping a length of the insulating sheath from the end of the cable, and further means operable automatically when the sheath has been stripped from the cable for crimping a connector to at least the bared core of the cable while the cable is still held by the gripping mechanism.

United States Patent [72] Inventors ThomasGeorgeWoodward [51] lnt.ClB2lf15/00 Solihull; [50] Field of Search 140/ 1, 113; Eric John Wright,Sutton Coldl'ield; Albert 81/95 1; 29/282, 33 v Thomas Hayes,Marston'Green, England [2|] L 7 ,373 v [56] References Cited [22] FiledMar. 27, 1968 UNITED STATES PATENTS [45] Patented Jan. 5, 1971 3,084,5744/1963 Folkenroth 81/951 1 x: $9 1 a 0 2 LImIted 3,292,462 12/1966Turecek, et a1 8119.51 [32] Priority :gf Primary Examiner-Lowell A.Larson [33] Great .2 Attorney-Holman, Glascock, Downing and Seebold [31]Nos. 14062/67, 063/67 and 14064/67 ABSTRACT: A machine for securing andelectrically connecting an electrical cable to an electrical connectorincludes a gripping mechanism for gripping the cable. Means operable 4INE F E RIN AND ELE TRICALLY [5 g8 gg g CABiE To AN automatically whenthe cable 18 gripped by the gripping i ELECTRICAL CONNECTOR mechanismfor stripping a length of the insulating sheath from 11 Cl 4D the end ofthe cable, and further means operable automatically when the sheath hasbeen stripped from the cable for [52] US. Cl 140/1, crimping a connectorto at least the bated core of the cable 8 1 [9.51 140/ 1 13 while thecable is still held by the gripping mechanism.

IILV 1 l 43 J 42 as Z 17 7 V /77 PATENTEDJAN sum- 3.552.449

SHEET 1 UF 4 PATENIEUJANSIQ Q 3552.449

'' SHEET 20F 4 v the hated coreof the cable while thegrippin'gmechanism.

panying drawings wherein:

cally when the cable is gripped by the gripping mechanism for strippinga length of the insulating sheath from the end of the cable, and furthermeans operable automatically when the sheath has been stripped forcrimping a connector to at least cable is still held bythe The inventionfurther resides in a machine for stripping an insulating sheath from anelectrical cable, and in a machine for crimping an electricalconnectorto an electrical cable.

'One example of .theinvention is illustrated inthe accom- FlG. l is apart sectional sideelevational view of a com- I bined cable strippingand connector crimping machine;

FIGS. 2 and 3'are front elevational and plan views respectively of themachine shown in FIG. -1; and I FIG. 4 is avie'w similar to FIG. 3 butwith parts thereof omitted for clarity. a Y

' Referring to the drawings, the machineincludes a fixed bed 11 havingupstanding from the front edge of the upper surface 12 thereof,'avertical apertured wall 13. The front face 14 of the bed 11 hassecuredthereto a cable gripping mechanism 15. I

' The'mechanisrn 15 is mounted on the bed 11 for movement in a verticalplane, and is urged to the upper limit of its travel .by springs 16. Themechanism includes a pair of generally parallel arms 17'pivoted at theirmidpoints. Each arm is formed at its upper end with a jaw 18 and carriesat its lower end a rollerl9, a spring 21 being provided to urge the armsin a direction to move the jaws l8 apart. A movable cam 22 extendsbetween the arms 17 and is engaged by the rollers 19, the 'cam 22 beingmovable in response to operation of a pneumatic cylinder 23 to move therollers 19 apart and thereby move the jaws 18 towards one another.

The surface 12 of the bed 11 has secured thereto a pair of parallelguide rods 24 on which the cable stripping mechanism 25 is slidablysupported. The stripping mechanism 25 is supported onthe guiderods 24for sliding movement in a horizontal plane'towards and away from thegripping mechanism 15.

t The mechanism 25 includes a U-shaped'earriage 26, the vertical limbsof which are bored to receive the rods 24. Pivotally engaged with thebase of the carriage '26 by meansof abolt 28 are a'pairof generallyparallel arms -29,the arms being interconnected at their ends remotefrom the mechanism 15 by an overcenter toggle linkage 31. The linkage 31includes a spring mechanism 15 carry a pair of cooperable cutters 35which are brought togetheras the linkage 31 is moved over center. The

- front of the carriage 26 is extended towards the mechanism 15 andcarries a tapering hollow cable guide 36 and amicroswitch 37, the switch37 having an operating push rod 38 positioned at the end of the guide 36remote from the mechanism 15. Each of the limbs 27 ofthe carriage 26carries a pair of stop means 39, 41 which extend towards the arms 29,the members 39 being-positioned on the limbs 27 between the bolt 28 andthelinkage 31, while the members 41 are positioned on the limbs 27between the bolt 28 and the cutters 35.

Slidably mounted for vertical movement on the front face of the wall 13is the slide 43 of the crimping mechanism 42. Secured to the uppersurface 12 of the bed 11 below the slide 43 is an anvil 44 upon which inusea connector 57 rests, the connectors being integral with a continuousmetal ribbon 55 which is fed into the machine in a manner to bedescribed. The slide 43 carries a hammer 45 which, in-use, cooperateswith the anvil 44 to crimp a connector onto a lead. A toggle linkage 46extends between the slide 43 and an adjustable stop 47 channel 54 alongwhich the metal ribbon 55 extends from a supply reel 56. The metalribbon 55 has integral therewith a plurality of connectors 57 spaced atequal intervals along its length. The finger 53 is urged by a spring 58in a direction so that its free end engages the base of the channel 54,and the finger 53 is inclined at a small angle to the base of thechannel 54. As the slide 43 reciprocates, the free end of the finger 53moves backwards and forwards along the base of the channel 54 and oneach forward movement the finger 53 engages a connector 57 on the ribbon55, and so pushes the ribbon 55 along the channel towards the anvil 44.As the finger 53 moves back again, it rides over the adjacent connector37 on the ribbon 55. 1h order to prevent the ribbon 55 beingdragged-back with the finger, there is provided a ramp on the base ofthe channel 54 over which the connectors ride when moving toward theanvil 44 and which is shaped to prevent the connectors moving backagain. The ramp isspaced from the anvil 44by a distance equal to thespacing of the connectors 57 on the ribbon 55, so that when connector 57is engaged therewith, the adjacent connector remote from the supply reel56 will be positioned on the anvil 44. During the return movement of thefinger 53, it is moved back by a distance greater than the spacing ofthe connectors 57 so that when the finger 53 again moves forward, therewill be sufficient delay to allow the hammer 45 to move upwardly clearof the anvil 44 before a subsequent connector 57 is moved onto the anvil44.

The operation of the machine is as follows:

A cable 59 comprising an'inner conductive core and an outer insulatingsheath is inserted between the jaws l8 and through the guide 36 by anoperator. The cable 59 is guided between the cutters 35 and engages theend of the push rod 38, and in so doing actuates the microswitch 37. Thelength of cable 59 which has passed between the cutters 35 is determinedby the position of the push rod 38 with respect to the cutters 35, andthe push rod 38 is adjustable to vary the length of cable from which thesheath will be stripped. Closing of the microswitch initiates operationof a cam control system which controls the operation of the machine.lnitial movement of the cam causes operation of the pneumatic cylinder23 so moving the cam 22 upwards to cause the arms 17 to pivot in adirection to move the jaws 18 towards each other to grip the cable 59.

When the cable 59 is gripped by the jaws 18 the cam control then causesoperation of the cylinder 33 to draw the ram 34 in a direction away fromthe gripping mechanism 15. The carriage 26 is not however moved with theram 34 initially owing to the inertia of the carriage 26 and to thefriction between the limbs 27 and the guide rods 24. Thus, as the ram 34is retracted the ends of the arms 29 adjacent the ram 34 are moved apartunder the action of the linkage 31 and the arms 29 are pivoted about thebolt 28 to move the cutters 35 together. The stops 39 are so positionedthat the pivotal movement of the arms 29 is arrested when the cutters 35have cut through the insulating sheath of the cable 59, but before theconductive core of the cable 59 is severed. When the pivotal movement ofthe arms 29 is arrested, the linkage 31 becomes locked and the carriagewith the cutters 35 in their closed position is drawn back with the ram34 thereby stripping a predetermined length of the insulating sheathfrom the cable 59 and leaving the core thereof bare. When the carriage26 is retracted the guide 36 and the microswitch 37 and push rod 38 aredrawn back with it leaving the bared cable 59 positioned above the anvil44 of the crimping mechanism 42. When the carriage reaches its rearmostposition so that the cutters 35 and the guide 36 are clear of the pathof movement of the slide 43, the cam control causes operation of thecylinder 48 so that the ram 49 thereof is urged outwardly. This movementof the ram 49 is transmitted through the linkage 46 to the slide 43 tocause downward movement of the slide 43.

As the slide 43 moves downwardly, the hammer 45 moves downwardly withit. The hammer 45 has an inverted V-shaped slot 61 therein, the base ofwhich is so shaped as to crimp parts of the connector 57 when theconnector 57 is trapped between the hammer 45 and the anvil 44. As theslide 43 descends the bared bore of the cable 59 engages in the slot 61of the hammer 45. As the core of the cable 59 engages the slot 61, apair of adjustable stops 62 on the slide 43 engage the grippingmechanism so that on further downward movement of the slide 43, thegripping mechanism 15 and the cable 59 gripped therein are carrieddownwardly with the slide 43,

' against the action of the springs 16. As the hammer 45, movesdownwardly, the bared core of the cable 59 moves with it and the hammer45 guides the cable 59 downwardly between two pairs of upstanding tagson the connector 57 supported on the anvil 44. The final part of themovement of the hammer 45 downwardly relative to the anvil 44 crimps thetwo pairs of tags to grip the cable within the connector, the first pairof tags being crimped to grip the cable sheath and the second pair oftags being crimped to grip the cable core and thereby electricallyinterconnect the cable 59 and the connector 57.

As the hammer 45 crimps the connector 57 to the lead 59 a pair ofcoacting guillotine parts 63 sever the connector 57 from the ribbon 55and also sever the part of the ribbon 55 to which the connector 57' wasattached from the remainder of the ribbon 55. The scrap parts of theribbon 55 drop down into a chute 64 and are collected in a container 66.

When the slide 43 reaches the bottom of its stroke, the cam controlreverses the operation of the cylinder 45 to cause retraction of the ram49. As the ram 49 retracts, the slide 43 is raised and the grippingmechanism 15 is raised to its original position by the springs 16 and isreleased to allow the operator to remove the cable 59 with the connector57 crimped thereto. During the raising of the slide 43, the feed finger53 is moved to feed a further connector 57 into a position on the anvil44 in the manner previously described. When the slide reaches its upperposition, the cam control apparatus operates the cylinder 33 to move theram 34 outwardly. lnitial movement' of the ram pivots arms 29 in adirection to open the cutters 35 so that the length of insulating sheathcan drop into a second chute 65 to be collected in a container 67. Thearms 29 pivot until they engage the stops 4] whereupon the linkage 31again becomes locked and the carriage 26 is moved forward in preparationfor a further cycle. To ensure that there is sufficient resistance tomovement of the carriage 26 to cause pivoting of the arms 29, the limbs27 of the carriage and the guide rods 24 are provided with coactingfriction means, which are adjustable to compensate for wear of the limbs27 and rods 24, in use.

The machine is provided with an air jet which is positioned to blowcompressed air onto the cutters 35 at the required time to aid removalof the length of cable-sheath from the cutters.

The adjustable stop 47 of the crimping mechanism 42 is in the form of amicrometer adjustment and is movable to alter the position of the upperlink of the toggle linkage 46 and thereby accurately adjust the limitsof movement of the slide 43.

We claim:

1. A machine for securing and electrically connecting an electricalcable to an electrical connector including:

a gripping mechanism for gripping a cable;

means operable automatically when the cable is gripped by said grippingmechanism for stripping a length of the insulating sheath from the endof said cable, said means including;

a carriage movable towards and away from said gripping mechanism; i

a pair of relatively movable coacting cutter members on the carriage;

stop means acting between the carriage and the cutter members to limitsaid relative movement of the cutter members; actuating means actingthrough the cutter members for moving the carriage, the arrangementbeingsuch that in use initial operation of said actuating means causesrelative movement of said cutter members to sever the insulating sheathof the cable whereupon said stop means arrests said relative movement ofthe cutter members so that further operation of said actuating meansmoves the carriage away from the gripping mechanism to strip the severedpart of the insulating sheath from the cable; and

further means operable automatically fwhen the sheath has been strippedfor crimping a connector to at least the bared core of the cable, whilethe cable is still held by said gripping mechanism.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 wherein said means for crimping theconnector includes an anvil on which an electrical connector issupported in use, a hammer movable between upper and lower limitpositions towards and away from the anvil for crimping the connector tothe cable, actuating means acting through a toggle linkage to move thehammer, and adjusting means associated with one link of said togglelinkage for adjusting the limit positions between which the hammer ismovable.

3. A machine for stripping an insulating sheath from an electrical cableincluding:

a gripping mechanism for gripping the cable;

a carriage movable towards and away from said gripping mechanism;

a pair of arms;

means pivotally mounting said arms intermediate their ends on thecarriage;

a pair of relatively movable, coacting cutter members defined at one endof said arms respectively;

a toggle linkage interconnecting the ends of said arms remote from saidcutter members;

actuating means coupled to the center point of said toggle linkage; and

stop means acting between the carriage and said arms, the

arrangement being such that in use initial operation of said actuatingmeans straightens said toggle linkage and thereby pivots said armsrelative to the carriage in a manner to move said cutter members towardsone another until said arms engage said stop means to prevent furtherpivotal movement of the arms, the inertia of the carriage and frictionin mounting means for the carriageresisting movement of the carriageduring said initial movement of the actuating means, said inertia andfriction being overcome when said arms engage said stop means, so that,said carriage is moved by further movement of said actuating means, saidinitial movement of said actuating means causing said cutter members tosever the insulating sheath of the cable, and said further movement ofthe actuating means causing said cutter members to strip the severedpart of the insulating sheath of the cable from the cable.

4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said mounting means for thecarriage includes friction means which is adjustable to vary the degreeof friction and to take up wear in said mounting means in use.

5. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said actuating.

means includes a fluid operable ram.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein movement of riage, towardsthe gripping mechanism in preparation for afurther stripping operation.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said stop means and saidfurther stop means are carried by said carriage.

8. A machine for crimping an electrical connector to an electrical cableincluding:

, means for adjusting the position of said stop in a direction towardsor away from said anvil; a toggle linkage interconnecting said hammerand said stop;

and actuating means, said actuatingmeans being coupled-to the centerpoint of said toggle linkage, and acting through the toggle linkage tomove the hammer relative to the anvil, said means for adjusting theposition of said stop serving to permit adjustment of the upper andlower limit positions of the hammer.

9. A machine as claimed in claim 8 wherein said hammer is shaped toguide said cable into engagement with said connector during movement ofsaid hammer to its lower limit position.

10. A machine as claimed in claim 8 including means for j 10 feedingelectrical connectors onto said anvil during movement of said hammer toits upper limit position.

11. A machine as claimed in claim 10 wherein the electrical connectorsare integral with, and spaced along a connecting strip and the machineincludes means for severing a crimped l5 connector from said strip afterthe crimping operation.

1. A machine for securing and electrically connecting an electricalcable to an electrical connector including: a gripping mechanism forgripping a cable; means operable automatically when the cable is grippedby said gripping mechanism for stripping a length of the insulatingsheath from the end of said cable, said means including; a carriagemovable towards and away from said gripping mechanism; a pair ofrelatively movable coacting cutter members on the carriage; stop meansacting between the carriage and the cutter members to limit saidrelative movement of the cutter members; actuating means acting throughthe cutter members for moving the carriage, the arrangement being suchthat in use initial operation of said actuating means causes relativemovement of said cutter members to sever the insulating sheath of thecable whereupon said stop means arrests said relative movement of thecutter members so that further operation of said actuating means movesthe carriage away from the gripping mechanism to strip the severed partof the insulating sheath from the cable; and further means operableautomatically when the sheath has been stripped for crimping a connectorto at least the bared core of the cable, while the cable is still heldby said gripping mechanism.
 2. A machine as claimed in claim 1 whereinsaid means for crimping the connector includes an anvil on which anelectrical connector is supported in use, a hammer movable between upperand lower limit positions towards and away from the anvil for crimpingthe connector to the cable, actuating means acting through a togglelinkage to move the hammer, and adjusting means associated with one linkof said toggle linkage for adjusting the limit positions between whichthe hammer is movable.
 3. A machine for stripping an insulating sheathfrom an electrical cable including: a gripping mechanism for grippingthe cable; a carriage movable towards and away from said grippingmechanism; a pair of arms; means pivotally mounting said armsintermediate their ends on the carriage; a pair of relatively movable,coacting cutter members defined at one end of said arms respectively; atoggle linkage interconnecting the ends of said arms remote from saidcutter members; actuating means coupled to the center point of saidtoggle linkage; and stop means acting between the carriage and saidarms, the arrangement being such that in use initial operation of saidactuating means straightens said toggle linkage and thereby pivots saidarms relative to the carriage in a manner to move said cutter memberstowards one another until said arms engage said stop means to preventfurther pivotal movement of the arms, the inertia of the carriage andfriction in mounting means for the carriage resisting movement of thecarriage during said initial movement of the actuating means, saidinertia and friction being overcome when said arms engage said stopmeans, so that said carriage is moved by further movement of saidactuating means, said initial movement of said actuating means causingsaid cutter members to sever the insulating sheath of the cable, andsaid further movement of the actuating means causing said cutter membersto strip the severed part of the insulating sheath of the cable from thecable.
 4. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said mounting meansfor the carriage includes friction means which is adjustable to vary thedegree of friction and to take up wear in said mounting means in use. 5.A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein said actuating means includes afluid operable ram.
 6. A machine as claimed in claim 3 wherein movementof the actuating means in the opposite direction after a strippingoperation initially moves said members apart so that the stripped sheathof the cable is released, said movement of the cutter members beingarrested by further stop means whereupon further movement of theactuating means moves the carriage, towards the gripping mechanism inpreparation for a further stripping operation.
 7. A machine as claimedin claim 3 wherein said stop means and said further stop means arecarried by said carriage.
 8. A machine for crimping an electricalconnector to an electrical cable including: a frame; a grippingmechanism for gripping a cable; an anvil on which an electricalconnector is supported in use; a hammer movable towards and away fromthe anvil, between an upper limit position and a lower limit position,for crimping the connector to the cable; a stop on the frame of themachine; means for adjusting the position of said stop in a directiontowards or away from said anvil; a toggle linkage interconnecting saidhammer and said stop; and actuating means, said actuating means beingcoupled to the center point of said toggle linkage, and acting throughthe toggle linkage to move the hammer relative to the anvil, said meansfor adjusting the position of said stop serving to permit adjustment ofthe upper and lower limit positions of the hammer.
 9. A machine asclaimed in claim 8 wherein said hammer is shaped to guide said cableinto engagement with said connector during movement of said hammer toits lower limit position.
 10. A machine as claimed in claim 8 includingmeans for feeding electrical connectors onto said anvil during movementof said hammer to its upper limit position.
 11. A machine as claimed inclaim 10 wherein the electrical connectors are integral with, and spacedalong a connecting strip and the machine includes means for severing acrimped connector from said strip after the crimping operation.